Mexican and colombian cartels have infiltrated local gangs as they vie for lucrative drugs routes. Ecuador was hit hard by covid and theyve taken advantage of a country broken by a pandemic and by corrupt politics. The police are at pains to show me theyre fixing the problem, but when theyre having to protect themselves with sandbags in the police station, you realise this is a war without end. This used to be one of the main routes for traffickers. People would come up here with Stolen Phones and jewellery and exchange those goods for drugs up here, but the police have taken back this area. That said, the police have lost so much more control of the city of guayaquil. The bars on all the windows in this neighbourhood tell you all you need to know about the lack of security here. Angie fears for her four children. The police are powerless, she says. Just two weeks ago her neighbour was shot dead outside his daughters school. Translation all i want is security, thats the only thing that
is worth $500 million and it funnels cash to conservation in return for a lower interest rate on the national debt. in turn, gabon says it will spend at least $125 million to widen a marine reserve and strengthen fishing regulations. but critics see this debt for nature deal as putting environmental decision making power in the hands of foreign governments, adding that the wealthiest and highest polluting nations could use it as a way to avoid curbing their own emissions. let s talk to lee white, gabon s minister of water, forests, the sea and environment. minister, thank you for making the time for us. talk us through how this works. we time for us. talk us through how this work- time for us. talk us through how this works. ~ . . ., ., this works. we have created what we call a blue bond, this works. we have created what we call a blue bond, which this works. we have created what we call a blue bond, which will this works. we have created what we call a blue bond, which will b
do you agree with that statement? not really. we have, like many countries, including the uk, we have depth. what we have done here is restructured that debts, paid a smaller interest rates to increase our credit rating and to recycle a chunk of that money into conservation, so it is a win win scenario. we are not in any way selling gabon s sovereignty. it has been put together by the ministry of economy with the support of the nature conservancy and backed by the us international development finance corporation, which allows us to reduce the interest rates. it is an innovative finance method for blue conservation, it is something that has been done in other countries, most recently in ecuador, and we would expect to see more and more
to gabon at a reduced interest rate, so our ministry of economy pays less to service the debts and all of what would have been profits to the banks that usually do these sorts if things get recycled into conservation, so we end up generating $163 million over 15 years we will be spending about $4.5 million a year in conservation and at the end of the 15 year term will have enough money in an endowment that means we will have $4.5 million to put into marine conservation forever, so it creates a sustainable fund that will continue to fund marine conservation and improve fisheries in gabon forever.- fisheries in gabon forever. critics have said that fisheries in gabon forever. critics have said that this fisheries in gabon forever. critics have said that this puts - fisheries in gabon forever. critics have said that this puts gabon sl have said that this puts gabon s environmental concern sits squarely in the hands of western countries, those that owned the debts in gabon.
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